


skin & bones, grace & glory

by Murf1307



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Accidental Child Acquisition, Adopted Children, Disabled Character, Fatherhood, Kid Fic, M/M, Muteness, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 11:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16722306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murf1307/pseuds/Murf1307
Summary: When a toddler is left on the doorstep of the newly-opened Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in late spring in 1964, she winds up imprinting something fierce on Alex Summers.  This complicates...pretty much everything.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a functionally mute character before, so if I've screwed something up, please feel free to let me know. Also, this is a lot of really self-indulgent nonsense that my friends have gently bullied me into posting. So, enjoy?

It’s been a successful first semester for the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.  Most of the kids who have families are gone for the summer, and soon they’ll all be gone, leaving only one runaway and a pair of foster cases: a surly twelve year old boy with claws, and a set of ten year old twins.

One day in early June, the doorbell rings, and Alex happens to be in the hall when it does, so he goes to answer it, expecting a parent coming for their kid. 

Instead, he finds a baby.  

Well, a toddler.  She’s black, with medium brown skin and her hair braided into two pigtails, and big dark eyes as she stares up at Alex.  She  _ also _ has feathers all across her shoulders and tiny, clawlike fingernails.  

Definitely a mutant.

And, from the sound of an engine gunning it off the property, she's just been abandoned.

“Hey, kiddo,” he says, crouching to her level.  “What's your name?”

She frowns, but when she opens her mouth, all that comes out are these trilling sounds, like a bird.  Frustrated, she tries again, trying to form her lips around a word. He tries to read them.

“Maria?  Is that it?”

She nods immediately and toddles forward, pitching herself into his chest and clinging there.

Well.   _ Shit. _

 

* * *

 

Maria won't let go of him.  He carried her to Charles’s study as soon as he got her inside, but she's just got her face buried in his shoulder and won't look at Charles.

“Alex, really, she's a toddler.  We don't — “

“She's all alone, Prof.  She's one of us, and it's — isn't it our responsibility to help?” Alex has no idea what he's doing, but Maria hasn't got anywhere to go.  He can't leave her to the foster system; that's just out of the question.

Charles looks at him.  “Do you know anything about childrearing, Alex?”

“No, but...hell, if I gotta learn, I gotta learn.” He holds Maria a little closer.  “And besides, Sean might wanna help, too. So.”

“...All right.  But please, Alex, be careful.  Looking after a child indefinitely is a  _ huge _ commitment, and you're nineteen years old.” Charles gives him this gentle, concerned look.  “You've hardly lived your own life.”

Alex shrugs his free shoulder.  With a voice as solemn as the grave, he says:

“Darwin was nineteen when he  _ died _ .”

 

* * *

 

 

Alex brings Maria to Sean, because Sean once mentioned taking a vow of silence for a year or so after his powers came in, and that he knows sign language.  Maybe he can help Alex communicate with her.

“Now,” Alex tells her, because she can  _ understand _ spoken English, even if she can’t speak it, “I’m taking you to meet my friend Sean.  He knows how to talk with his hands, which might help you talk with yours. Is that something you know how to do?”

She nods, and lifts one hand to make a gesture he doesn’t know how to read.

“Okay, so, I don’t know how what that means,” he tells her, “But Sean might, and I think we should try it.”

He gets to Sean’s door and knocks.  Sean sleeps a lot, especially since what happened last year before Kennedy got shot, and Alex sometimes wonders if it might be a bad thing that Sean does sleep so much, but it’s not like he can ask anybody that question.

Sean opens the door, and pauses, obviously surprised by Maria.  “So, who’s this?”

“Her name is Maria, and she can’t talk.  She knows some sign language, I think, so I thought you might be able to help.”  Alex shrugs a little. 

Maria’s looking at Sean carefully, like she’s trying to decide if she likes him.

“Yeah, I think I could.  Maria? What words do you know?”  Sean asks her, almost gentle about it, and Alex appreciates that immediately.

Maria twists around so she can use both hands to gesture.  Alex  _ thinks _ he understands parts of it, like when she points to herself, it probably means “me” or “I” or something.

Sean nods as he watches her, and when she’s finished, he turns to Alex.  “Her name’s definitely Maria, and she’s a little hungry, but she’s glad she’s here.”

Maria nods, confirming what Sean said.

“Guess I should probably try and learn this stuff,” Alex says.  “Since she’s gonna be living with us from now on.”

Maria’s smile could light up the house.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s not easy, being a three-year-old’s primary caretaker.  Even the words feel weird in his mouth; he’s re-registered for the draft, and had to write that down on paper.  Charles is working on the legal paperwork, too.

He likes the stability of it, though: he has Maria, and Maria has him.  

There’s a lot he has to learn, too — sign language, how to do her hair — and a lot he’s now thinking and worrying about with the world the way it is.

Right now, he’s reading, and she’s draped over his chest, napping.  She’s heavy, and it’s uncomfortable, but he’s pretty sure he loves her.  It hit him hard and fast, but, well, he’s starting to think that that’s just how love  _ works _ , for him.

Hank wanders into the library, wincing when he sees the two of them sprawled on the couch.  Alex doesn’t know why Hank’s so nervous about Maria, but he figures it has to do with how the guy  _ still _ thinks he’s scary and monstrous.  Even though he’s totally not, in Alex’s opinion.  

He rolls his eyes at Hank, who frowns, a little hurt-looking, before leaving the way he came.

Alex really needs to talk to him, if he can get ten minutes to himself later.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so.  Maria’s hanging out with Sean, and I gotta talk to you.”

Hank flinches, clearly not expecting Alex in his lab.  “You know, I distinctly remember locking that door.”

“Yeah, well, I learned to pick locks as a kid.”  Alex shrugs, moving over to Hank’s table, a little mulish in his disposition.  “And I know you’d probably shut the door in my face if I knocked.”

“ _ What _ do you think you need to talk to me about?” Hank sighs, clearly frustrated.  “I have things I need to do, work that needs to —“

“Just,  _ shut up _ for a second, will you?”

Hank shuts up, something in Alex’s tone surprising him into silence.

Alex takes a deep breath.  “I want you to spend a little time with Maria, all right?”  He glances out past Hank, at what looks like the beginnings of a small plane like the one they used in Cuba.  “She’s got those feathers, and her claws. She could probably use a little attention from the Beast.”

Hank closes his eyes.  “I don’t want to scare her.”

“Dude.  How many times do I have to tell you that you’ve never looked better?”  Alex sighs. “She’d like you, I think, if you spent a little time around the rest of us.  And, man, it’s probably not healthy to spend so much time alone, you know?”

“I’m not — okay, fine.  I spend a lot of time down here.”  Hank looks down. “But I’m not  _ alone _ .  Sometimes Sean comes downstairs.  Not...into the lab, obviously, but.  He tries.”

Alex blinks.  “Shit. Man, you  _ really _ need to come up now and then, all right?”

Before the summer of ‘63, but after Cuba, Sean had spent practically all his time hanging out with Hank, leaning on his furry shoulders and watching him work.  Alex remembers all the times he had to come down and let them know there’d be food in a minute.

Maybe this is part of why Sean sleeps so much, these days.

Hank exhales.  “Okay. I’ll…endeavor to do that.  A little later, though. I really  _ am _ working, you know.”

“Yeah, Bozo, I know.”  Alex gives him a little smile.

Hopefully, it’s enough.

 

* * *

 

Hank comes upstairs a few hours later, while Maria and Sean are showing Alex a few more signs.  He’s learning pretty slow, in his opinion, but he guesses the important thing is that he’s learning.

“Um,” Hank says, drawing everybody’s attention.

Maria goes very still, her eyes as wide as moons in her face.  She gets up from where she’s sitting, and, determinedly, she approaches Hank.   _ Do you sign? _ she asks him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you just said to me,” Hank says, nervously crouching to get on her level.  “My name is Hank.”

_ My name is Maria _ , she signs, her lips moving around a silent rendition of her name.  She gestures to his fur, then makes the sign for  _ hair _ , smiling.

“She likes your hair,” Sean says, an edge of a laugh in his voice.

Hank’s face flushes a little bit purple.  “Oh, well, thank you,” he says to Maria. “That’s very kind of you to say.”

Alex isn’t sure exactly what Maria says next, and he looks at Sean for clarification at the same time Hank does.

“She’s asking if she can hug you, because you look soft.”  

Hank blinks.  “Oh, is that so?” He asks her, and she nods, her chin resolute.  “Well, then, I don’t see why not.”

When she latches onto his front, he lets out a little, breathless laugh, and lifts her up as he stands up straight.  He’s smiling when he looks at Alex and Sean, and Alex can’t help but grin back.

_ Damn _ , it feels good to be right.

 

* * *

 

Fingerspelling some things is helpful, when either he or Maria isn’t sure about a sign.  On his birthday, Maria bursts into his room and lands on his bed, waking him. His chest glows in alarm for a second, but he cools off as soon as he knows it’s her.  

“Hey, kiddo,” he says, grinning.  “What’s up?”

Maria points to him, then signs a word he doesn’t know, making an excited little trilling noise as she does.

“Could you spell that for me?”  She’s a smart kid, and she often can, even when he wouldn’t expect a kid her age to be able to.

_ B - E - R -T - D - A - Y _ she spells, and then points to him again.

He laughs.  “Yeah, it’s my birthday.  Did Sean tell you that?”

She trills again, nodding and smiling.   _ Happy birthday! _

Alex reaches out and hugs her.  “Thanks, sweetheart.” He pulls back a little, so her hands are free again, and asks, “Do you think we should do something?”

She nods emphatically and gets off his lap only to grab his hand and pull at him to try and get him off the bed.

Laughing, he follows her off the bed and out of his room.

For a birthday, especially one of his, this one’s pretty good.

 

* * *

 

Wanda, one of the twins, has taken to Maria immediately, and while she’s only ten, it’s good to have another set of eyes looking out for the toddler.  Today, for Alex’s birthday, they’re all trooping out to the diner down in Salem Center.

Even Hank comes with them, Charles's powers weaving an illusion for the public.

Alex is really pretty sure he's never had a better birthday, especially when Maria crawls into his lap and fingerspells against his chest:.  _ D — A — D. _

He tears up right there in the diner, holding her tight.

 

* * *

 

By late August, it becomes clear that the school won't reopen for the fall semester.  American involvement in Vietnam has everyone on edge, and Alex spends a fair amount of time  _ terrified  _ now.

He can't leave Maria.  Everything else aside, he can't risk his life overseas when Maria is here, because she needs him.

Charles keeps telling him that he’s unlikely to be drafted, now, since he’s Maria’s only legal parent, but he’s still afraid.  His luck has never been too great, besides the luck in  _ getting _ Maria, and he doesn’t want to find himself in a position where hoping for the best fucks him over again.

Wanda and Pietro are out back with Maria and Sean, and Alex has dipped down into the bunker in the basement -- it’s not the only training room down there anymore, with some of the improvements Hank has made to the underground parts of the house, but the bunker is still  _ his _ .  It’s the only place he feels safe using his powers.

And today, he needs to let off some steam.

He’s surprised to see Akihiro leaning up against the wall next to the door.  The kid just turned thirteen, and he’s much more of a loner than the twins, who have always had each other.

“Hey,” he says.  “So, what do you  _ do _ in there?”

None of the kids have ever seen him use his powers, he realizes for the first time.  They didn’t have any energy blasters in last year’s class, so nobody else needed the bunker.

Akihiro’s just the first person to mention it.  He reminds Alex of a younger version of himself, still suspicious from a rough childhood, and it shows in the way he dresses, the way not even Charles can get him to cut his hair -- which is brushing his shoulders now, making him look like even more of a delinquent.

“I’m an energy blaster,” Alex replies.  “It’s not really safe for me to use my powers outside the bunker.  I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

Akihiro nods.  “Makes sense. Can I watch anyway?”

“You really shouldn’t.  It’s dangerous. I’ve hurt people on accident before.” He can tell Akihiro really wants to, though, and the kid has powers that can hurt people, too.  So he would be most able to get why Alex is so careful about his.

“Yeah, but, like, you’re better now, right?”

He is.  His precision is nearly surgical, now, given how long he's spent training; he's almost obsessive about it.

“Stay behind me,” he concedes.  “And only once.”

“Fine with me.  I'm not  _ trying  _ to get roasted, y'know?” Akihiro shrugs a little, and Alex sighs, leading him inside the bunker.

Akihiro stays behind Alex, and Alex sets himself up.  The dummies can move now, on a system of conveyor belts Hank rigged up after Cuba, and he'd flicked the switch on the way in.  They're grinding to life now as he steadies himself.

He can do this.  He can do this.

He focuses on the feeling deep in his chest, the buzzing warmth that's been with him his whole life, and takes a deep breath.

Then, he aims.

Then, he fires.

He can send the rings out straight now, instead of needing to aim them like hula hoops around his hips or arms.  This set of rings slams into the center dummy, about at the left edge of its slide radius.

Then, he takes out the left dummy when it slides into that position, and then shifts immediately and almost imperceptibly to hit the last one where it started.

“Holy shit,” Akihiro says, as the dummies smoke at the other end of the bunker.

Alex chuckles, to his own surprise.  “Yeah, kinda.”

“That’s so  _ cool _ !” Akihiro exclaims.  “Shit, man, you need to show that off more.”

“It’s not safe,” Alex reminds him. 

“Yeah, maybe.  But still. People should know you can do that.”  Akihiro smirks a little. “Maria & Wanda would both probably love to see that.”

Well.  Maybe, Akihiro might have a point.

 

* * *

 

 

Maria’s cuddled up on his chest when the doorbell rings.  It’s a little late, and Alex was just trying to get some reading in before he goes to bed -- he knows Sean and Charles and the kids are all asleep, and Hank’s in the basement.

So he slips his arm around Maria and carries her to the door, a little bit unnerved, because, again, it’s late.  He’s the only one awake.  _ Why _ is someone here?

He shifts Maria into his other arm.  He needs his right hand free in case there’s a threat, after all.  

He opens the door, just a crack.

In the dark, he thinks he’s  _ seeing _ things.  Because there’s no way he’s really seeing this.

A pair of white eyes are looking back at him from a  _ very _ familiar face.

“Hey, hotshot.  I’m home.”


	3. Chapter 3

This  _ can’t  _ be happening.

No matter how much Alex has wanted it, deep in the dark when the world can’t hear him cry into his pillow over it.

But, as impossible as it is,  _ Darwin _ stands before him as plain as day.

He looks different, now; his eyes are all white, and he doesn’t have a beard or eyebrows.  It’s...well, it’s a good look on him, in Alex’s opinion. 

“Y-you,” he manages, very softly.  “I thought you were dead.”

Darwin’s smile is soft and rueful.  “Yeah, I did too for a while. I’m back now, though.”  He notices Maria. “Who’s the little miss?”

Alex wets his lower lip, his mouth suddenly almost painfully dry.  “She, uh. Her biological family left her on our doorstep, so, uh. She’s...legally, she’s mine now.”   _ Shit.   _ He can’t even react to this the way he really wants to, either.  He can’t risk it, even here. Not with Maria in the picture.

Darwin breaks into a grin.  “Jeez. How long have you been her daddy for?”

Alex blushes, and he hopes Darwin can’t see it in the dim light filtering from the front parlor library.  “Since May. So, like, about four or five months?”

“Her hair looks looked-after.”  Darwin’s clearly teasing, which only makes Alex blush more.

“Yeah, I, uh, I take her down to Harlem once a month, and the ladies at one of the beauty shops down there have taught me some stuff.”  He shifts Maria in his arm again. “You, uh, you should come in,” he invites, clumsily.

“Sure,” Darwin says, and steps inside.  “I missed a lot, I gather,” he teases. “But at least some of it's good.”

Maria starts to stir, making a little trilling noise and digging her fingernails into the back of Alex's shirt before blearily lifting her head.  She lifts a hand and signs  _ Bedtime? _

“In a minute, sweetie,” Alex reassures her, just as she notices Darwin.  

Her eyes widen, and her hands fly through a series of disjointed signs.  He manages to get the gist —  _ Who is he?  Is he special?  Can he stay? _

Alex laughs.  “This is Darwin.  He's a friend of mine.  He got hurt real bad and had to go away for a little while, but he's back, now.” Alex hopes it's to stay.  “Do you wanna say hi?”

She nods and turns to Darwin, waving a little.  She's kind of shy, but in a different way than before.

“Hey kiddo,” Darwin says.  “Your dad says your name's Maria.  It's a very pretty name.” He offers her his hand.  “My friends call me Darwin, but my real name is Armando Muñoz.”

She nods, fingerspelling his name to commit it to memory.  Then, she turns back to Alex.  _ Can he understand me? _

Alex wouldn't know.  “Darwin, uh, can you…?"

Darwin watches for a minute.  “Y'know, I think I can. Say something, honey?”

_ Nice to meet you.   _ Then a pause, as she remembers something.   _ Daddy has your picture in his room. _

Shit.  Called out by his  _ toddler. _

Darwin laughs.  “Well, well, well,” he says, smirking.  “Missed me, hotshot?”

Alex's face is burning red, and he just nods.  “Yeah, I did,” he manages softly. “And Raven had taken all those pictures, y'know?  I kept a couple.”

Maria wiggles in Alex's grip, and Alex puts her down.  She only comes up to his hip, and she's surprised when she pushes him toward Darwin.  She sticks her hands back into his line of sight:  _ You missed him lots.  You should hug. _

“Okay, uh,” Alex says, looking helplessly at Darwin.

Darwin just laughs and steps forward, pulling Alex into a hug.  Alex isn't expecting it, and it knocks the wind out of him.

Because this is  _ Darwin  _ touching him.

This is  _ really happening. _

His arms immediately find Darwin's waist, and he's hugging back as tight as possible, even if he doesn't mean to.

“Sorry I took so long,” Darwin murmurs near his ear.

“Not your fault,” Alex breathes back, shakily.  “You didn't — you didn't know what Shaw could do.  None of us did.”

Darwin holds him tighter, and Alex lays his head on Darwin's shoulder.  He feels safe, just for the moment. With Darwin here, nothing can touch him.

Darwin came back from the  _ dead _ and found him again.

That means something, doesn't it?

 

* * *

 

They put Maria to bed without incident, especially after Darwin — after  _ Armando  _ — promises he’ll still be here in the morning.

And that leaves just the two of them, alone together for the first time since, well, since the night everything started going wrong.  Alex can’t help but feel nervous, not sure what Armando is going to think of what he’s made of his life. How he’s  _ adapted. _

Shit, does Armando even know how much those nights meant to him?  Just...having a friend. Having  _ someone _ who he thought was safe from him, who could take it.  

Armando just smiles at him, though.  “Can’t say I ever really imagined you’d be the one to adopt a kid,” he teases.

“She needed somebody,” Alex says, shrugging.  “I was the one who answered the door.”

“And then you decided she was yours.” Armando’s still teasing, but he sounds...impressed, it seems like.  “Or maybe it was the other way around?”

“Little of both, I think,” Alex says, with a little smile.  “She’s a good kid.”

Armando smiles.  “With a good dad.”

Alex can’t help but blush at that, just a little.  “I’m trying. And it’s...it’s different, now, y’know?  The world feels different, with her in my life.”

“You have to worry about stuff you didn’t have to before,” Armando seems to suss out.  

“Yeah.  Like, sure, the world’s dangerous enough for someone like me, but...she’s just a kid, and the world’s gonna be harder on her than it ever was on me.  I’d have to be stupid not to see that.” Alex shrugs again. “So I have to worry. Until the world’s safe enough for her.”

Armando reaches out and takes his hand.  “Gonna have to wait a while for that, then.”  He sounds a little sad.

Alex squeezes Armando’s hand.  “I know,” he murmurs. “But...it’s worth it.  She...the first time she called me  _ dad _ , I almost cried.”

He feels safe telling Armando things like that.  He trusts Armando with those kinds of vulnerabilities, and he thinks he probably always has.  Before, he just had fewer ro express, in the end.

Armando smiles at him.  “Damn. You got it bad.”

Alex laughs and blushes.  “Yeah, well. I think that’s just how I roll, in the end.”  He pauses. “I, uh, I’d offer you a room, but none of them are really fit for a guest.”

“I think that can wait til morning,” Armando says.  

“You can stay with me, if you want,” Alex murmurs.  It's a dangerous offer, but it's the only one he can make at this point.

Armando squeezes his hand in return.  “I'd like that.”

 

* * *

 

Alex's room is barely steps away from Maria's, and it's a disaster zone.

“Hotshot,” Armando says, shaking his head.  “It looks like a bomb went off in here.”

“Yeah, well, I sort of am one, aren't I?”

It makes Armando laugh.  “Sure are.” Behind closed doors, he tugs Alex closer.  “Gotta say I expected a kid to clean you up a little, though,” he says.

Alex allows himself to be moved, but it brings him painfully close to Armando.  “Would you pity me if I tell you this was way worse before?” he asks, trying to distract them both with a joke.

“Bullshit,” Armando says, smiling, and then, for a moment or two, they're both quiet.

Then, Armando runs a finger up Alex's chest, and Alex has to suppress a shiver.  Armando's fingertip stops at heart level. “You know how I found you?”

“How?” Alex can barely get the word out.

“I think I've still got a little of that,” he taps his finger, “inside me.”

He hikes up his own shirt, the dark skin smooth and unbroken...until he uncovers part of his chest.  Underneath his skin, there’s a glowing oval of orange light along  _ his _ sternum.

Alex swallows.  “Shit. I -- I’m sorry.”

Armando gives him half a smile.  “Not your fault,” he murmurs.

“Does it hurt?” Alex has to know.  He has to know if his powers are  _ hurting  _ him, if that's all he's good for, in the end.

“I don't think so.” Armando bites his lower lip.  “But I think it helped me get here. Like a homing beacon, or something.” His free hand lifts one of Alex's.  “Touch it?”

Alex finds himself afraid, but it's  _ Armando  _ asking, and he can't deny him.

He lays his hand against Armando's chest, and…

Nothing happens.  His hand is just there, and Armando's skin is warm and smooth, glowing underneath.

Alex swallows.  “I guess it's staying there?”

Armando nods.  “Looks like it's part of me, now.” There's something significant in his voice, but Alex can't quite form the words around it.

“Yeah.” Alex should move his hand.  He really, really should.

“I think I like that,” Armando murmurs.

And that's that.  That's the thing Alex can't allow himself to think about.  That they're linked forever now, his energy glowing in Armando's chest.

There is no going back.

Alex swallows, wets his lips.  “I would, too, if — if it hadn't happened the way it did.”

“Yeah,” Armando concedes, and curls his hand around Alex's wrist.  “But now, you're with me forever, I guess.”

Alex’s heart throbs in in chest, a lump rising in his throat, because  _ shit _ .  There’s no way to really misinterpret what’s going on here, what Armando’s saying  _ underneath _ what he’s saying.

They can only be this, he’s saying.  They can only be what they are.

Alex takes a deep breath.  “If we -- if we...we can’t tell anyone.  Nobody can know.”

For Maria’s sake, nobody can know about what’s between them.  As much as that hurts, as much as he hates having to keep secrets, they can’t risk this getting out.  

Armando swallows.  “Yeah. I know.”

“Okay.  Just...just wanted to make it clear.”

Then, he steps closer, his hand still on Armando’s chest, and kisses him like he’s been wanting all along.

 

* * *

 

They fall asleep together, Alex's cheek to Armando's glowing chest, arms wrapped around his waist.  But the quiet only lasts a couple of hours; eventually, the bed dips, and Maria's hand starts shaking Alex's shoulder.

He wakes up, and his gut freezes, because  _ shit.   _ Maria's way too young to understand this has to stay a secret.

She signs something, but he can't see her in the dark well enough to tell what she's saying.

“Hey, baby, let me turn the lights on,” he murmurs to her, peeling himself off of Armando.  “I can't see you talking in the dark.”

Armando, who Alex had not noticed has woken up, tugs him back down.  “She had a bad dream,” he says. “She wants to know if she can sleep with us.”

“Of course,” Alex says with a little smile.  

As she snuggles up against him, he can't help but feel like it'll all be okay.

They can deal with the danger, the logistics, the strategies for living and loving — all of that can wait til morning.  

For now, just this is more than enough.


End file.
